Luxury giants face shrinking sales in China as second‑hand market rockets towards 100 billion yuan

China's economy struggles to recover from the pandemic, leading to a decrease in luxury purchases as consumers pivot to second-hand markets and local brands.

Major luxury brands like LVMH and Hermes face reduced demand, prompting store closures and strategic re-evaluations.

Despite challenges, China's second-hand luxury market is on the rise, with projected exponential growth by 2030.

Analysts suggest China will remain significant for the global luxury sector, though it may lack short-term growth potential as spending typically rebounds with economic recovery.

SHANGHAI, Oct 19 — With China’s economy still struggling to recover from the pandemic, even global fashion icons are beginning to feel the pinch as consumers turn instead to the second-hand market or buy upstart new homegrown brands.

Chinese were once massive buyers of luxury Western brands, accounting for around a third of worldwide spending and earning firms such as LVMH and Hermes billions of dollars.

But consumers’ belt-tightening has forced them to rethink their strategies, with Louis Vuitton closing five stores in mainland China in the past two years — including a chocolate boutique in Shanghai — while Galeries Lafayette shut its Beijing flagship in May.

“People used to compare who had spent more,” dance teacher Yuan told AFP at a new retail space in central Shanghai filled with luxury handbags, belts and jewellery items — all second hand.

“But now everyone compares who got a better deal and spent less,” the 24-year-old said at the two-storey warehouse-style store in the centre of the Chinese financial hub.

After plunging as much as 19 per cent in 2024, mainland China’s personal luxury market contracted another three to five per cent in 2025, according to consultancy Bain & Company.

LVMH recently blamed a “slowdown in demand in China” for a drop in organic sales in the third quarter in its fashion and leather goods unit, a slump expected to be mirrored in its peers’ results.

China’s second-hand luxury market meanwhile exploded 15-20 per cent in 2025, according to Bain & Company.

And domestic industry consultancy Insight & Info Consulting estimates total sales reached 38.4 billion yuan (RM23.4 billion) in 2025, while forecasting it could top 100 billion yuan by 2030.

At the new Shanghai store Super Zhuanzhuan, shoppers have to wear black gloves to avoid their greasy fingers touching the products.

Customer Phoebe Ma, 24, said that when her mother’s generation was young, China “wasn’t so developed” and people were initially familiar with only a handful of luxury brands.

“Consequently, they formed a deep-seated impression that, OK, Louis Vuitton was the absolute best and most prestigious,” the freelancer told AFP.

“I just feel that the [LV] monogram is dated. It suits my mother’s generation, but Gen Z would rather buy trendy Korean brands,” she said.

‘Work hard to stay relevant’

Chen Luo, head of China consumer research at Bank of America, said shoppers were moving away from associating luxury solely with social status and towards “self-identity, distinction, experience, quality, emotional value (and) cultural relevance”.

“Apart from that, China’s retail landscape is very digital/social media driven, and China’s digital ecosystem is also very unique,” Luo told AFP. “Foreign brands should work very hard to stay relevant in this context.”

Adding to the headwinds for Western brands is growing cultural and legal friction.

LVMH recently successfully sued Chinese beverage chain Molly Tea for trademark infringement over a four-petal floral pattern resembling the French firm’s monogram.

But the lawsuit sparked an online backlash after Chinese internet users and state media pointed out that the motif shares roots with ancient Chinese traditional patterns.

“It feels a bit absurd,” said shopper Echo Wang, 31, who works in marketing.

“Molly Tea may be doing well in China, but it’s nowhere near Louis Vuitton’s global profile... I think some people feel the lawsuit was inappropriate,” she told AFP.

LVMH management called its intellectual property “an absolute key asset”, but admitted the furore had “had a negative impact”.

Analysts emphasise that China remains vital for the global luxury industry.

“In our view, China will still be an important market, although it may not be a growth engine in two to three years,” said Luo.

“Luxury spending is normally rebounding in sync with the economy, as usually the wealthy class will be among the first to benefit from economic recovery.” — AFP

Zetrix AI withdraws 0.25 sen interim dividend to preserve working capital

Bursa Malaysia slides as US tech sell-off weighs on investor sentiment

Ringgit opens mostly higher after Malaysia’s GDP growth beats expectations

Mukhriz says 25,000 mourners flocked to Dr Hasmah’s grave, easing Dr Mahathir’s grief as her legacy inspires

Police: Drug trafficking case mentioned in podcast near Sentul IPD dates back to 2016

Father and daughter killed as container crushes car in Sepanggar, police detain driver

中国经济难以从疫情中复苏，导致奢侈品消费下降，消费者转向二手市场和本土品牌。

LVMH 和爱马仕等主要奢侈品牌面临需求下降，导致门店关闭和战略重新评估。

尽管面临挑战，中国的二手奢侈品市场正在蓬勃发展，预计到 2030 年将呈指数级增长。

分析人士认为，尽管中国奢侈品市场可能缺乏短期增长潜力（因为消费通常会随着经济复苏而反弹），但它对全球奢侈品行业仍将具有重要意义。

上海，10 月 19 日——由于中国经济仍在努力从疫情中复苏，就连全球时尚偶像也开始感受到压力，因为消费者转而转向二手市场或购买新兴的本土品牌。

中国人曾经是西方奢侈品牌的主要买家，约占全球消费总额的三分之一，为 LVMH 和爱马仕等公司赚取了数十亿美元。

但消费者勒紧裤腰带迫使他们重新思考策略，路易威登在过去两年中关闭了中国大陆的五家门店——包括上海的一家巧克力精品店——而老佛爷百货也在五月份关闭了其北京旗舰店。

“人们过去常常比较谁花的钱更多，”舞蹈老师袁女士在上海市中心一家摆满了二手奢侈手袋、腰带和珠宝的新零售店里告诉法新社。

“但现在每个人都在比较谁买到了更划算的商品，花了更少的钱，”这位 24 岁的年轻人在中国金融中心中心的一家两层仓库式商店里说道。

据咨询公司贝恩公司称，中国大陆个人奢侈品市场在2024年暴跌19%之后，2025年还将进一步萎缩3%至5%。

LVMH 近日将旗下时装和皮革制品部门第三季度有机销售额下降归咎于“中国需求放缓”，预计其同行的业绩也将出现类似下滑。

据贝恩公司预测，到 2025 年，中国二手奢侈品市场将增长 15% 至 20%。

国内行业咨询公司 Insight & Info Consulting 估计，到 2025 年，总销售额将达到 384 亿元人民币（234 亿令吉），并预测到 2030 年，总销售额可能超过 1000 亿元人民币。

在上海新开的超级转转店，顾客必须戴黑色手套，以避免油腻的手指接触商品。

24岁的顾客Phoebe Ma表示，在她母亲那一代人年轻的时候，中国“并不那么发达”，人们最初只熟悉少数几个奢侈品牌。

“因此，他们形成了一种根深蒂固的印象，那就是，好吧，路易威登是绝对最好、最负盛名的，”这位自由撰稿人告诉法新社。

“我觉得LV的经典logo已经过时了。它适合我母亲那一代人，但Z世代更喜欢购买时髦的韩国品牌，”她说。

努力保持竞争力

美国银行中国消费者研究主管陈洛表示，消费者正在逐渐不再将奢侈品仅仅与社会地位联系起来，而是将其与“自我认同、独特性、体验、质量、情感价值和文化相关性”联系起来。

罗告诉法新社：“除此之外，中国的零售业格局高度依赖数字化/社交媒体，中国的数字生态系统也非常独特。外国品牌要想在这种环境下保持竞争力，就必须付出巨大的努力。”

西方品牌面临的不利因素还包括日益加剧的文化和法律摩擦。

LVMH集团最近成功起诉中国饮料连锁店Molly Tea，指控其商标侵权，原因是该连锁店的四瓣花图案与这家法国公司的标志相似。

但这场诉讼引发了网络上的强烈反弹，因为中国网民和官方媒体指出，这种图案与中国古代传统图案有着渊源。

“感觉有点荒谬，”31岁的购物者Echo Wang说道，她从事市场营销工作。

“Molly Tea在中国可能发展得不错，但远不及路易威登的全球知名度……我认为有些人觉得这场诉讼不合适，”她告诉法新社。

LVMH 管理层称其知识产权是“绝对的关键资产”，但也承认这场风波“产生了负面影响”。

分析人士强调，中国对全球奢侈品行业仍然至关重要。

罗先生表示：“我们认为，中国仍将是一个重要的市场，尽管在两三年内它可能不会成为增长引擎。”

“奢侈品消费通常会与经济同步复苏，因为富裕阶层通常会率先从经济复苏中受益。”——法新社

Zetrix AI 为保留营运资金，撤回 0.25 仙的中期股息。

受美国科技股抛售潮影响，马来西亚股市下跌，投资者情绪承压。

马来西亚GDP增长超出预期，令吉开盘普遍走高。

穆克里兹表示，有25000名哀悼者涌向哈斯玛医生的墓地，她的精神遗产激励着人们，也减轻了马哈蒂尔医生的悲痛。

警方：播客中提到的在冼都警局附近发生的毒品走私案可追溯至2016年

在西邦加尔，一辆汽车被集装箱压扁，一对父女不幸身亡，警方已拘留肇事司机。